Roasting-furnace.



F. A. CURNOW. ROASTING' FURNACE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 1a, 1913.

Patented Sept. 9, 1913.

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- INVENTOR I P. A. CURNOW.

ROASTING FURNACE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.18, 1913.

1,072,920, Patented Sept. 9, 1913.

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WITNESSES [NVENTOR W V mm y Y {4 A t/omey.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH C0. WASHINGTON, D. c.

F. A. CURNOW. ROASTING FURNACE. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 18, 1913.

1,072,920, Patented Sept.9,1913..

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1 Allarney FRANCIS ALBERT CURNOW, OF PITTSBURG, KANSAS.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 9, 1913.

Application filed March is, 1913. Serial No. 755,077.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANCIS ALBERT CUR- NOW, citizen of the United States of America,jresiding at Pittsburg, Crawford county,

'Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Roasting-Furnaces; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in roasting furnaces, and in particular to roasting furnaces provided with mechanically operated rabble rakes.

The object of my invention is to provide means for controlling the operation of said rabble rakes according to the nature of ores being treated in roasting furnaces.

lVith this general object in view, and some others which will be obvious to those skilled in the art fromthe description hereinafter, my invention consists in the fea-.

tures, combinations of parts and details which will first be described in connection with the accompanying drawings and then more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of a portion of a mechanical zinc ore roasting furnace equipped with rakes embodying my invention; Fig. 2 a similar longitudinal elevation, partly in sec tion, of the same; Fig. 3 a transverse section on the line 33, Fig. 1; Figs. 4 and 5 are a plan and elevation, respectively, of the automatically controlled starting and stopping mechanism for the rakes.

Referring to the drawings, and particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, A indicates traveling rakes arranged to stir and rake out the ores of a suitable roasting furnace A, these rakes being carried by suitable cable cars A running on tracks, each car being attached to an endless cable B which passes around drums C, C, so thatby operating one of the drums, for example, C, each car will travel first in one direction, thence in a semicircle, as it moves around the respective drum, thence in the opposite direction around a semicircle as it moves around the other drum, thence again in the first direction andso on repeatedly, so long as the driving drum is operated, Any material,

such as ores from a roasting furnace will be moved along by the rakes to any suitable point of discharge.

Since it is not necessary to operate the rakes continuously but only at suitable in tervals, which intervals, however, vary according to the nature and condition of the ores treated in the roasting furnace, I have provided automatic mechanism for starting and stopping the rakes, the mechanism being adjustable to allow the interval during which the rakes are out of operation to be varied according to the conditions to be met in actual service. Broadly considered, this automatic mechanism comprises means for rotating the cable driving drum, this means being operated from a continuously moving source of power, through the aid of a transmission gearing which may be thrown out of action by a tripping device tripped by a rake when it arrives at a predetermined position in its travel, said tripping apparatus being controlled by a suitable adjustable timing device which, after the rake is stopped, starts in operation and after the requisite interval. of time for which it is adjusted, throws the transmission gearing into condition to again transmit power from the continuous source of power to the means for driving the cable drum, the rake then again commencing its travel and continuing to operate until it again reaches the predetermined position for actuating the tripping mechanism, which stops the cable drum.

In the present example, the mechanism above described generally is as follows: D is a continuously moving source of power, in this instance a main driving shaft having a pulley (Z over which passes a belt (Z arranged to run on either a loose pulley E or a tight pulley F7, these pulleys E and E being mounted on a winding shaft E journaled in suitable bearings, as indicated at e. For the purpose of shifting the belt d from one pulley to the other, a belt shifter of any suitable construction is provided, this consisting in the present example of a longitudinally movable slide bar F mounted in slide boxes f and provided with upward extending prongs F" between which the belt cl passes. To the shifter F is connected one end of a bell-crank G pivoted at g, the other end of said bell-crank being connected to a shift-rod H longitudinally slidable in suit- I vice, as for example, an eye, 1', to which is secured means for shifting the said sleeve I, as will be more fully explained hereinafter. The opposite end of the rod H is pivotally connected to one arm of a bell-crank K, pivoted at it and having its other arm connected to a longitudinally slidable beltshifter L mounted in suitable slide-boxes, as indicated at Z and provided with upward extending prongs Z between which passes a belt M driven from a suitable pulley N on the main shaft D and arranged to pass l around either a loose pulley N or a tight pulley b according to the position of the shifter L. The pulleys N N are mounted on a counter shaft N which drives the cabledriving drum C through any suitable mechanlsm as for example, the following: To the countershaft N is fixed a pinion N engaging a gear-Wheel O on a shaft 0 which extends to the cable drum C and is provided with a bevel pinion O in mesh with a bevel gear wheel 0 fixed to the drum shaft.

The belt-shifter L is extended toward the path of the rakes and is connected to one arm of a bell-crank P pivoted at p and having its other arm curved to serve as a striker-arm which is in the path of the arm of, the rake, and is tripped or shifted when struck by the rake in its travel, or by some striking or tripping element, such as an upward projecting pin 2) fixed to the rake which serves for tripping the mechanism.

The winding or timing shaft E has two portions arranged as Winding drums, one portion having wound thereupon a rope, or the like as indicated at e which rope is provided with a weight 6 for a purpose hereinafter explained. The other winding drum portion is arranged to have wound thereupon a draft device such as a cable of rope or the like as indicated at e which rope passes over suitable pulleys a and extends parallel to and near the shift-rod H, its free end being provided with a weight 6 The rope e? is connected to the eye, 2', of the sliding sleeve I, as shown in Fig. 4.

The ropes e and e are so wound upon the winding drum portions of the shaft E that when the shaft E is not driven by its tight pulley E and belt d the weight 6 can descend and rotate the shaft E in a backward direction, thus unwinding the rope e in The operation of the apparatus thusiifar described is as follows: When the rakes have been operated by their cable drum G to rake the ore to a desired place at the end of their longitudinal paths, the movement of said rakes will eventually bring one rake to the w thus stopping the rakes. At'the' same time 7 that the belt-shifter L is moved as above. described, the bell-crank-K is moved to shift the rod H in the direction of the arrow m, Fig. 4, whereby the bell-crank G at the opposite end of the rod H-is moved to operate the belt-shifter F, thus shifting the belt'd" from the loose pulley E to the tight pulley E and starting the timing shaft E in rotation. This rotation of the timing shaft causes it to wind up the ropes 'e" and 6 respectively whereby the weights 6 and e are lifted. The winding up of the rope 6 causes the sleeve 1 to be drawn in the direction of the arrow 1, Fig. 4, moving along the rod H until said sleeve finally contacts with the collar if, after which contact the rod H itself is drawn in the directionof the arrow 12 Fig. 4, thus shifting the bell-cranks K and G so as to shift the belt M onto the tight pulley l 2 and the belt donto the loose pulley E. The rakes again start in opera-' tion to rake or stir the ore and the winding shaft E is no longer power driven. The weights 6 and'e now act to draw their respective ropes e and 6 so as to unwind. them from the shaft E 'The movement of the rope e by its weight 6 causes the sleeve I to slide along the rod H inthe direction of the arrow 00, Fig. 4, until finally said sleeve contacts with and is stopped by the collar h The apparatus remains in this. condition until the rake carrying the tripping device again reaches its predetermined position for operating the striking arm of V the bell-crank, P, whereupon the latter is swung to shift the belt M onto the loose pulley N and the belt d onto the tight pulley E whereby the 'actionshereinbefore described are repeated.

It will be noted that the rakes remain inactive while the sleeve is traveling along the rod H between the two set collars k and If and, hence, by adjusting these collars V suitably along therod H the intervalduring which the rakes are idle may be adjusted to meet the desired conditions of operation,

after which the action is automatic; 7

While the starting and stopping apparatus is shown and described as part of. a combination including a roasting furnace and rabble raking device thereof, it is to be understood that such starting and stopping apparatus may be useful in other combinations Where it is desired to operate mechanism intermittingly, with adjustable intering apparatus for automatically stopping the latter, and means set into operation upon the stopping of the raking apparatus for automatically starting the raking apparatus after a predetermined interval. a

2. In a roasting furnace or the like, the combination, with the furnace, a raking apparatus arranged to rake ore from the furnace and a source of power of operating said raking apparatus, of means for transmitting power from said source to the raking apparatus to actuate the latter, means arranged to be actuated by the raking apparatus for disconnecting said transmitting means from the source of power, and means operating after a predetermined time interval to connect said transmitting means with the source of power, whereby the raking apparatus is again put in action.

3. In a roasting apparatus or the like, the combination, with the furnace, a raking apparatus arranged to rake ore from the furnace, and a source of power for operating said raking apparatus, of delay-action means for automatically connecting said source of power to the raking apparatus to actuate the same, and means operated by the raking apparatus on its arrival at a predetermined position for disconnecting said raking apparatus from the source of power and setting into action the said delay-action connecting means.

4. In a roast-ing apparatus or the like, the combination, with the furnace, a raking apparatus comprising a rake arranged to rake ore from the furnace, a source of power, and a transmissiondevice connected to said raking apparatus, of a longitudinally movable rod, means connected to said rod for coupling said transmission device to and uncoupling it from, the source of power, means in the path of the rake for shifting said rod in one direction, and a timing device coupled to the rod and arranged to shift it in the other direction.

5. In a roasting apparatus or the like, the combination, with the furnace, a raking apparatus comprising a rake arranged to rake ore from the furnace, a source of power, and a transmission device connected to said raking apparatus, of a longitudinally movable rod, means connected to said rod for coupling said transmission device to and uncoupling it from said source of power, a rotatable winding device, means connected to said rod for coupling said winding device to and uncoupling it from said source of power, a draft device arranged to be wound up by said winding device, stop devices carried by the said rod, a sleeve device movable along the rod between said stop devices and connected to said draft device, and means arranged in the path of the rake for shift-ing said rod longitudinally.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

FRANCIS ALBERT CURNOW.

l/Vitnesses:

WM. LANYON, Jr., E. V. LANYON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

